Lap-seam-felling attachment for sewing-machines.



No. 729,126. .PATENTED MAY 26, 1903.

s. P. BROWN. LAP SEAM FELLING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

A'PPLIDATION FILED NOV. 28, 1902.

K0 MODEL.

WITNESSITS. 4 INVENTOR.

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UNrrED STATES" Patented May 26, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL P. BROWN, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

SPECIFICATIONfOrming part of Letters Patent N0."729,126, dated May 26, 1903. Application filed November 28, 1902. Serial No. 133,06 7. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL P. BROWN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Lap- SeaIn-Felling Attachment, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to lap-seam fellingthat is,the stitching together by a double-needle machine of two plies of fabric whose edges are folded over and interlocked- -and has for its obj eat to simplify and improve mechanism for performing the operation,with the special ends in View of making it practicallyimpossible for either the upper or lower .ply of fabric to run out no matter how sleazy or flimsy it may be, likewise practically impossible for the stitching to run off the edges, and likewise of enabling an operator to make a curved lap-seam fell quite as easily as a straight one. These results I accomplish by a novel construction of presser-foot, in connection with which I preferably make slight changes in the construction and mode of at tachment of the ordinary lap-seam feller, the v changes in construction both of the presserfoot and the feller being devised with the special purpose in view of carrying the under piece of fabric, which cannot be seen by the operator, clear to the needles even if of the fiimsiest kind and of insuring that the four plies of fabric which comprise the seam be pierced by the needles before any pressure or friction is placed upon the seam by the presserfoot. With these ends in view I provide the under plate of the feller with a forwardly-extending lip, which carries the under ply of.

fabric clear to the needles, and have also devised a relatively short hinged presser-foot -entirely open in front of the needle-path and having two upturned toes which straddle the seam, thus holding it securely in place and rendering it practically impossible for the stitching to run ofi at the edges.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view showing my novel presser-foot detached and the feller in position as in use, the neodles being in section; Fig. 2, a side elevation corresponding therewith, the bed of the machine being indicated in transverse section; Fig. 3, a plan view illustrating the manner in which the edges of the two pieces of fabric are placed in the feller, the presser-foot and needles being indicated by dotted lines; Fig. 4, an inverted plan View of the attachingplate; Fig. 5, a section of the feller on the line 5 5 in Fig. 3, the two pieces of fabric being indicated by dotted lines; and Fig. 6 isa section ofa lap-seam fell as on the line 6 6in Fig. 3.

A denotes the presser-foot as a whole,whioh consists of a shank 10, having a foot 11, to which a shoe 12 is pivoted. The essential features of my novel presser-foot are that the shoe, which forms the only bearing upon the seam, is made very short and is cut away in front of the needle-path, as at 30, the only portion thereof that extends beyond the needles, which I have indicated by 13, being upturned toes 14, which lie on opposite sides of the seam, the object being to so construct the shoe that while any required amount of pressure may be placed upon the completed seam there shall be absolutely no pressure upon either ply of fabric until said plies are stitched together. I therefore carry the plies of fabric clear to the needles and place no pressure upon said plies in front of the neodles, the needles, as a matter of fact, piercing the plies before they have reached the presser-foot. The exact mode in which the shoe is pivoted to the foot is of course not of the essence of my invention, although in practice I have found the style of shoe illustrated in the drawings to work perfectly. As illustrated, the shoe is provided with side pieces 15, which lie on opposite sides of the foot, the pivot 16 passing through the forward ends of the side pieces and the foot, so as to permit the shoe to rock, and thus insure constant pressure of the foot upon the seam without regard to the position of the sewing-machine feed, which is not shown, as it forms no portion of my present invention.

B denotes a lap-seam feller, which I shall not describe in detail, as it is in common use, the only change I have made in the feller consisting in providing the lower plate 17 with a forwardly-extending lip 18. This lip passes in between the toes 14 and carries the under ply of fabric clear to the needles, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Up to the present time, so far as I am aware,

all lap-seam tellers have been made for use with relatively long presser-feet constructed to bear upon the plies of fabric in front of the needles and having holes for the needles to pass through, and the bed-plates of sewing-machines have been provided with screwholes for the attachment of lap-seam fellers in position for use inconnection with ordinary presser-feet. In order that lap-seam fellers, either with or without the lips 18, may be attachedto sewing-machines as ordinarily made, but having my novel presser-feet, and that the feller may have the usual adjustment toward and from the needles, I provide attachingplates 19,each having a screw-hole toreceive a screw 21, which also passes through a slot 22 in the base-plate 23 of the feller. Each attaching-plate is provided near its forward end with a lug 24 to engage a hole 25 in the bedplate of the machine,and thereby set the feller positively and securely in place. The drilling of the hole 25 in the bed-plate is the only act required to adapt a sewing-machine already in'use for the attachment of lap-seam fellers in position to cooperate with my novel presser-foot. At the rear end of each attaching-plate I provide a slot 26 to receive a setscrew 27, which engages the ordinary attaching-hole 28 in sewingmachine bed -plates. By providing this slot in the attaching-plates the operator is enabled to use right and left fellers, which may be removed and attached by simply giving a turn or two to the set screw, there being a separate attaching-plate provided for each feller, so that in changing i from a right hand to a left-hand feller, or vice versa, all the operator is required to do is to turn set-screw 27 backward slightly, when the lug may be lifted from hole 25 and the feller and attaching-plate readily removed. Another feller may be attached by so placing the attaching-plate that the lug will enter hole 25 and the set-screw will pass into slot 26.

A turn or two of the set-screw will then look the feller in place., Should it be desired at any time to adjust the feller toward or from the needles without removing it from the machine, the operator loosens screw 20 and moves the base-plate of the feller inward or outward, as may be required,

a slot being provided for said screw to pass through.

The operation of making a lap-seam fell with my novel attachment is precisely the same as with an ordinary presser-foot and a feller without the forwardly-extending lip. The plies of fabric are inserted in precisely the same manner, the difference being that the under ply of fabric, which cannot be seen by the operator, is carried until it reaches the needles, and the folded plies of fabric-are both pierced by the needles before the least pressure is placed upon them by the presserfoot.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- A lap-seam-felling attachment comprising a pivoted presser-foot shoe having its forward end formed with a wide recess or'cut-away portion forming two toes, the recess being adapted to permit the passage of two needles and the two toes being adapted to lie on. opposite sides of the seam, said toes being upturned from a point at the rear of the path of the needles whereby the pressure of the foot will be exerted only on the stitched portions of the goods, and a seam-teller having a lower plate provided with a lip extending into the recess of the shoe between the toes thereof and close to the path of the needles, 3 to carry the under ply of fabric clear to the needles.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUELP. BROWN.

Witnesses:

A. M. WOOSTER, S. W. ATHERTON. 

